Zimbabwe’s army commander has openly stated that the country’s security forces intend to play a partisan political role, threatening future elections and those participating in them, Human Rights Watch said today.
On June 29, 2024, the Zimbabwe National Army commander, Lt. General Anselem Sanyatwe, was quoted as saying that people would be marched to polling stations “whether you like it or not,” and that the ruling party, ZANU-PF, would “rule forever.” Since the August 2023 general election, in which ZANU-PF failed to win an outright majority in parliament, the country has witnessed several by-elections in constituencies where opposition members of parliament were dismissed in a bizarre ploy. The dismissals were seen as an attempt to tilt the balance of power in ZANU-PF’s favor.
“The Zimbabwe military commander’s open endorsement of the ruling party not only threatens the fairness of elections but opens the door for security force abuses against voters, the opposition, and civil society organizations,” said Allan Ngari, Africa advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “Zimbabwe’s security forces need to comply with the country’s laws and regulations that uphold its international human rights obligations to ensure that elections are free and fair.”